He fell down on his stage, as a withering rose
by iriskung
Summary: The English version of my story. I translated myself. Shion dreamed to watch Nezumi's performance, but he was shot because Shion was stalked. After the dream, the two chatted for a while, about many things. However, danger is close because Safu was caugh


_The fanfic was written in August, and someone asked me if I can translated it into English... I'm so sorry I spent such a long time._

_When I wrote the story, I did care about the grace of my words, but when I translated it into another language, I can't think much about it. After all I have to make my words as accurate as possible with my limited vocabulary... I did translated it with my Oxford Eng-Chi dictionary... I know the story is not so good as in Chinese, and my translation may not be good, but I tried my best. At least it's better than Google translator, I believe~LOL_

_Some names I don't know how to spell them in English, so I just translated it according to my poor Japanese knowledge... If there are mistakes in expression, or better expression for you to understand, please tell me, so that I can fix it~_

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><p>[Nezumi x Shion] He fell down on his stage, as a withering rose<p>

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><p>Shion had never been to a theater before, but he imagined it a magnificent place, where its dome was supported by pillars curved with complex patterns. Nezumi called this Baroque, or Rococo style; Shion forgot the exact word. People always chatted, laughed, step by step walked downward, sat on the armchairs wrapped in dark-red flannel, and had themselves lost in the performers' elegant postures as they put an eye on the stage lit by numerous beams.<p>

If Nezumi knew my thoughts, he would definitely say that I'm naive, Shion thought, breathless in the crowd. This is West Block, so those scenes were as unrealistic as stories from A Thousand Nights. Besides, Nezumi once said that the theaters in West Block were just places for those who were comparably rich to kill time. In Shion's view, however, imagination is not always bad. At least, it was much better than having everything blocked by the high walls of No.6. Even you know how dangerous it was to thrown yourself into meaningless thoughts—you just could not resist it.

"Move forward boy! It has been a long time since Eve's last performance. You can't afford the loss of wasting my time even you trade yourself for money!"

Shion felt a rude poke on his right-sided waist from the back, and because that murmuring man pushed him forward, he lost his balance and ran into a woman in front of him. His disordered words of apology were buried in the woman's sharp voice.

Alas, nothing could be better than settling down. Shion sighed and wiped the sweat on his forehead. It might be a sort of bless that I succeeded entering here. He recalled Rikiga's frown and unfriendly tone when he begged the man.

"I know it's true that the one called Eve on stage is in a graceful beauty, and his performance worth seeing. But Shion," Rikiga suddenly hold the boy's shoulders tightly in his fingers, and his slightly round face magnified several times, "I should have told you. Don't get so close to that guy."

"Thank you very much for your concern, Uncle Rikiga, but I want to know more about him. Besides, there's not any knowledge about drama and play in No.6, and I'm eager to learn about them."

Though Rikiga still murmured, he reluctantly agreed to have Shion companied on Nezumi's next performance. However, it was Inukashi who gave Shion a piece of dirty paper.

"Uncle Drunken must wander to those terrible places. He said you only need to show this to the ticket inspector. Alahlahlah! What a spoiled young master!" It seemed so real that Inukashi was shrugging her shoulders exaggeratedly now in front of Shion, which led to another sigh.

Shion witnessed the cruelty of several men pillaging for a seat in the front row himself. In West Block, no one had the concept of "keeping order". It was impossible for the weak to live here. Nezumi did say so. Therefore, Shion only hesitated for a second before joining the crowd. His seat was not good, but it was lucky that no obstacle prevent him from seeing the stage clearly.

"Eve! It's Eve!"

The crowd boiled. People's overlapped back was the only thing left in Shion's view. Low shouts from men accompanied with women's screams. The old lady next to Shion kept wiping off the tears with her blackened sleeves. People were so crazy that the man on the stage seemed to be swallowed by their madness.

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." The soft voice coming from the stage swept people's restlessness away. Shion felt that he was unable to breath at that moment. "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake. Then have my lips the sin that they have took."

People sat down as silence spread, and Shion finally caught sight of the man on the stage.

How beautiful he was.

It was the compliment from the bottom of heart, and it escaped from Shion's lips without hesitation. In fear of being heard and laughed at, he looked around nervously like an innocent child.

It was not the Nezumi he was familiar with, but it was the Nezumi that he wanted to know. Though he made great progress in literature thanks to reading stories to Little Karan and her brother, and the three little mice, he was too awkward to express his feelings. Rikiga described Nezumi as "in grace beauty" on the stage, but Shion always felt it strange, although he couldn't find a more accurate word himself. All he could give is compliment. It was so beautiful.

The hair that hanged down loosely, the flower wreath on your head, the pink paint on your lips, the white dress you were in—they were so beautiful.

Your voice was not so low as usual, decorated with some sense of female's shyness. Sometimes you shouted in excitement, and sometimes you just murmured. It was so beautiful.

Your grey eyes shone when you turn yourself to Romeo, with grey clouds rolling in the pupils as you told him your heart. It was so beautiful.

It was so beautiful. Everything about you was so beautiful.

People in the theatre only saw Juliet who was not able to be with her lover; the one Shion saw, however, was still the one that he spent every day with.

No matter what your name is, Nezumi or Eve, Juliet or Ophelia, it makes no difference to me, because you are that Nezumi. Nezumi Nezumi Nezumi.

I want to know more about you, Nezumi.

"Come, night; —come, Romeo; —come, thou day in night." The man on the stage put one of his hand on his chest, and uttered passionate words. "For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night; whiter than new snow upon—"

BANG.

The air froze. The whole theatre was in dead silence.

Shion stared at Nezumi in a daze. He was still in the position that he threw himself a little forward, with another hand stretching in Shion's place. The expression that he could wait no longer to run to his lover stayed freezing on his face, and there was a bit of surprise in his grey eyes, as if he had just notice Shion's presence—

Then he fell down backward.

Even your motion of falling down was so elegant, Nezumi.

It was like a withering rose.

Pure white was dyed in bloody red.

"Ahhhhhh—!" the frozen air was torn up by a woman's scream; it exploded. People were so scared that they ran out of the theatre without any order. A child that was pushed down on the ground was crying loudly. Like a puppy that was out of control, Shion just kept shaking in the crowd.

His lung was pressed hardly. It didn't feel good at all. Those syllables escaped from his lips, and disappeared silently in the air.

—Nezumi!

"VC103221, how enchanting he is." A low voice appeared behind Shion. He turned around in sudden, and before he tightened the man's neck, cold metal touched his temple.

"It has been such a long time since our last meeting, Shion." Roshi said, smiling. "Thank you for leading the way."

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><p>"Nezumi!"<p>

"Hah? What's up?"

Shion looked at the door, which frowning Nezumi shut with a large pack of food in his hand; it was obvious that he had just come back. Two little mice ran on his shoulders, squealing, and Krabat could be seen nowhere.

It was only a dream…

The feeling of suffocation as if someone tightened his neck went away, and only then did Shion realize that his back and forehead were all covered with sweat. The instinct overweighed sense; he had hugged Nezumi tightly when he found out.

"It's so good…you're alive." It seemed as if he sobbed.

"Well." It was totally beyond Nezumi's prediction that they got in touch with each other in such a sudden, and he showed his surprise by raising his eyebrows. Even so, he didn't push Shion away.

"Of course I'm alive. How can I be dead before I see the destruction of No.6?"

No.6. This time, I won't be the actor. I will sit on the audience's seat, watching you persecuted by the storm and hearing your groan. When the play is over, I will pull off the bloody-red curtain by my own hands.

Shion looked straightly into Nezumi's eyes.

"But I…I dreamed that you died. Shot by others."

"And I still feel something bad…it may be…" He shook his head, trying to get rid of the stone in his heart.

—in relation with me. He swallowed the rest of the sentence back.

"Oh? It's such an honor that I was in sire's dream." Other than honor, Nezumi's words were full of sarcasms. "Eat something, and I shall say that those two kids will be coming soon?"

"Hum."

Though the feeling of heaviness still exists, Shion was much calmer, for he believed in Nezumi.

Nezumi, I always trust you. So please give me your word, that I shall never see the scenes in my dream.

He sat down and picked up a piece of bread, thinking about the story that he prepared to read for Little Karan and her brother. Suddenly he put the bread away.

Feeling that being stared by someone, Nezumi turned around.

"What's up now?"

"Nezumi, in my dream I went to see your performance. It was _Romeo __and __Juliet_. It was brilliant indeed!"

"Ah." Nezumi responded quietly, got close to Shion and took his hand; his voice was fatally attractive. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet."

"…what?"

"I'm sure that sire has finished reading _Romeo __and __Juliet_, am I? Or I should say that the quintessence from No.6 can remember the long arrays of DNA while such a few lines of Shakespeare's play were excluded?"

"Do not always hold prejudice on me for No.6."

Why do you hate No.6 to such an extent, Nezumi? Does the fire of revenge so fiercely? I don't want this. I don't want I don't want this. I don't want to be regarded as a coward escaping from No.6.

You changed my destiny. Without you I can live no longer. So what about you? What's the significance of me to you?

There were too many questions, but Shion just couldn't say them aloud.

"Shion." Nezumi said extremely coldly. "It's time for you to get out of that cage. You've been trapped by the fabricated ease. No matter how you distinct yourself from No.6, you cannot leave it behind at all. It will be your weak point."

"So you don't have any weak point, do you?" Shion didn't stick to self-controlling to the last moment.

"…"

The atmosphere became nervous in a second. The two little mice hid themselves under the piano, only leaving their heads outside for observation. Nezumi's face was covered by shadow, which made Shion afraid. However, he encouraged himself not to cower—there were too many questions he wanted to ask but he never got accurate answers.

"…weak point is, a part of humanity. I am human being."

Nezumi's voice was as low as whisper.

Do I have a weak point?

Don't be kidding! How did I survive so many years…? Nothing can threaten me.

Really? A voice in his head laughed at him.

Shut up! He shouted back to the teasing noise. I won't let anyone catch any weak point of mine…never!

"…Ne, Nezumi, what you said just now…I must claim that I do remember that line! I just want to ask you why you said it in English…"

Shion's voice was floating, as if he were speaking in a far distance. Nezumi blinked and recovered from inattentiveness, putting on a mask of disdain.

"See? You are still the so-called talented person fostered by No.6. I beg English is only the tool for the convenience of expression in scientific research, isn't it? Literature work, no matter how well translated, is still imperfect. How sad you people are, for you can't enjoy the enchantment of the original work!"

"Then teach me."

"Huh?"

Nezumi looked at Shion suspiciously, but he was nearly drowned in the firm red eyes. He breathed fiercely in shock.

"It's after I met you that I read so many books. You taught me how to read, so you can teach me how to enjoy the original work other than translated version as well."

Since the stormy night four years ago, you've been keeping breaking my rules.

Shion…what's your identity?

A book hit on Shion's head. It was too painful. He touched his head, only to see that Nezumi lied in bed, reading another book with his legs crossed. He spoke emotionless.

"Find _The __Cloud_ and read it. Call me after you sum up the how the rhythms of the poem work."

"Yep!" Nezumi frowned again hearing the straightforward tone filled with happiness.

The light flickered. Nezumi made tiny noises when turning the page. Shion whispered out the poem, and paused time to time for not understanding the rhythms. Hamlet crawled on Shion's shoulders, but soon ran back on the closet and ate bread with Getsuya, as if Shelley was not interesting enough.

A thought suddenly came out. Shion flipped the book on his knees.

There was something important that he forgot to say.

"Nezumi."

The one whose name was softly called raised his eyes from the book.

"You promised to tell me your real name before."

"I don't think it a good habit to be absent-minded when reading—"

"But now I think it doesn't matter much."

Nezumi sat up, and gazed in Shion so attentively since their conversation started. Shion only smiled, and kept on reading poem without continuing speaking.

But Nezumi understood.

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.

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><p>In the same time, in Lost Town of No.6, Karan was writing illegible words on a piece of paper with her shaking hand.<p>

Safu was taken away by the Security Council. Save her. Ka.

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><p>END<p>

2011/11/22


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